Personalities and intelligence of dogs have been discovered more, as researchers dig deeper. Understand your dog with its personality type to help you figure out the reason why your dog behaves in a certain way.

There are seven (7) dimensions of canine personality being identified, those are:

Reactivity

Fearfulness

Activity

Sociability

Responsiveness to training

Submissiveness

Aggression

The personality dimensions are greatly affected by the breed of the dog. All dogs are individuals and have their own personality. There are different approaches to determine and assess the personality of a dog, it is through:

Ratings of individual dogs; people who are familiar with the dog is asked to answer a questionnaire.

Tests; the dog is submitted to a set of tests and its reactions are evaluated on a behavioral scale.

Observational test; the behavior of the dog is evaluated in a selected but not controlled environment. The observer focuses on the reaction of the dog to the naturally occurring stimuli.

Protection dogs

These dogs are originally bred as herding dogs or flock guards. They are used for police work, guard homes or properties, or for sports. These dogs are confident, dominant, extremely trainable, has the ability to work well with humans. However, they have personality problems, such as dominant aggression, separation anxiety, and possessiveness.

Flocking dogs and mountain dogs

These dogs were bred to protect herds of sheep or cattle from predators. Most of them are bred to be white, to make them blend into the flocks. The behavioral profile of this kind of dogs are confident, tolerant, independent, protective, dominant, and can work well with people. However, they have personality problems, such as dominant aggression, wanderlust, and possessiveness.

Herding breeds

These dogs stalk and chase herds of sheep or cattle on a regular basis. They are usually medium-sized, agile, sensitive, and quick to use their teeth to move their flock. The behavioral profile of this kind of dogs are anxious, dominant, demanding, protective, sensitive, loyal, obedient, and can work well with people. However, they have personality problems, such as fear-based aggression, separation anxiety, destructive and noisy.

Scent hounds

They have a great sense of smell, their ears are long and can scrape the ground to stir up more scent. The behavioral profile of this kind of dogs is sweet tempered and tolerant. These kind of dogs are best for a family. However, they have personality problems, such as wanderlust, occasional dominance aggression, and indifference to training.

Sighthounds

They are long and lean, and has a great sense of vision and has the ability to run miles without getting exhausted. The behavioral profile of this kind of dogs are reserved, shy, aloof, and gentle. However, they have personality problems, such as stubborn, predatory to small animals, not interested in work that involves obedience.

Toys

They relatively have minor shedding, cleanup, food and care cost. They are ideal for apartments and companions and are cuddly lap dogs. The behavioral profile of this kind of dogs is type specific. However, they have personality problems, such as shy, snappy, separation anxiety, and dominance aggression.